Thanksgiving Pies with a Few Family Variations

Pear Tarte Tatin is my sister Lucia's specialty. She wrote: "I'm not a pie maker at all, but every Thanksgiving, I manage to pull off a Tarte Tatin-- not the traditional apple tarte, but a variant suggested in a Molly O'Neill recipe originally published in the New York Times in 1993."  Always a picky eater, Lucia doesn't like the traditional pumpkin or pecan pies, so when she found this French upside down pear tart, she made it her annual contribution to Thanksgiving dinner.

Lucia's 2021 Pear Tarte Tatin

Writing from New York, she goes on to offer a few notes on her Thanksgiving dessert: "I use Bartlett pears---a pedestrian choice, I know. But they are available out of season here. Anjou pears are too juicy and they give off too much liquid as they carmelize. My pears are always quite hard, even with the less juicy Bartletts; I still allow the pears and juice to cook down about twice as long as the recipe says."

"I have an old teflon pan which I use because it is the right size, and also the tarte slides out easily on the flip."

"A last note---don't fear the flip. It's a scary moment, but when the pan is removed, the result will be delicious even  if you have to wipe the sticky juice off the sides of the plate."

  Molly O'Neill's recipe for Pear Tarte Tatin on the New York Times Website

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Position rack in bottom third of oven. Peel the pears, cut them in half lengthwise and core them. Place in a large bowl and toss with the lemon juice. Set aside.
2. Place the sugar in a 10-inch skillet or tarte Tatin pan over low heat. When some of the sugar begins to melt, begin stirring with a wooden spoon until all of the sugar is melted and begins to turn a pale golden color.
3. Remove the pan from the heat. Arrange the pear halves in the pan spoke fashion, cut side up, with the narrow end of the pears toward the center, as close together as possible. Fill in the center with the remaining pears.
4. Cut the butter into small pieces and scatter over the pears. Place the pan over medium heat. Cook until the sugar turns a deep caramel color and the juices released from the pears are nearly evaporated, about 15 to 20 minutes.
5. Roll the dough and cover the pears according to the directions in the pastry recipe. Bake until the crust is golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside for 10 minutes.
6. Run a small, sharp knife around the edge of the tarte to loosen. Place a large plate or platter over the skillet. Holding the plate and skillet together using 2 kitchen towels, carefully but quickly invert the tarte onto the plate. Let stand a few minutes to cool slightly. Cut into wedges and serve with or creme fraiche if desired.

Lucia swears by Ms. O'Neill's pie crust recipe, which contains an egg yolk, so here is the link:  https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/10504-tarte-tatin-pastry 

                         Now on to my holiday favorite--- Pumpkin Pie

Taya's 2020 Pumpkin Pie 

I can't remember when I first started baking this pie, but I know it was well before I mastered the art of pie crusts. Our mother never made pies so we didn't learn that skill at her apron strings. I struggled for years until Pauline, a friend from Sur La Table, taught me to mix the dough in the food processor, chill it and roll it out giving it a turn every so often to prevent sticking. That works every time. Unlike Lucia's crust, I don't add an egg yolk.

My pie recipe appears in Cooking With Herbs and Spices by Craig Claiborne, legendary food editor of the New York Times from 1957 to '86. My copy is spattered and worn with use, but sports the original dust jacket. I drag it out every November and adjust amounts every so often, penciling notes in the margin. I prefer more spices, less molasses and less evaporated milk than the original. After much experimentation, I can say that I prefer Libby's canned pumpkin which, as it turns out, is actually squash.

           

Here is the page with my faithful pumpkin pie recipe from Cooking with Herbs and Spices

A New Addition to the holiday pie roster---Apple Pie Cookies

A New addition to the Holiday pie roster

Two years ago I bought a Bon Appétit "special edition" booklet on the news stand, titled Essential Cookies. In it I spotted a recipe for Apple-Pie Cookies. Here's the description that precedes the recipe: "Each flaky cookie crust holds a dollop of cinnamon-flecked apple filling, creating a dessert that celebrates fall." I was sold and started baking!

The cookies were time-consuming, but fun to construct. I have a collection of cute little cookie cutters, so I chose the  mini pumpkin to cut out the hole in the "top crust."  Many recipes in the booklet were favorites from the now defunct Gourmet Magazine. Gourmet's recipes were always meticulously tested and came out perfectly. As expected, the fresh- baked cookies were winners and I knew I had a new holiday tradition.

Copied from my Essential Cookies booklet

Flowering Herbs

     "Few are those who cannot permit themselves at least a few pots or a window box of herbs; and in a garden, borders, hedges and clumps of herbs...they can be of great beauty."—Richard Olney

 Flowering chives from Green Gulch at Ferry Plaza Saturday Market

Oregano blooming in my wooden planter

Flowering Sage in Barbara Pleasant's garden—Growing Sage

Rosemary blossoms, buzzing with bees, in the Berkeley hills

Hyssop—cutting the stems releases its fragrance

                            
                      

                          "The tiny intense blue flowers scattered  
                          over a background of varied greens and
                          hard- boiled eggs are ravishing." —                  
                                                                Richard Olney









                                                                                              
                                                                                                          

A butterfly enjoying thyme in full bloom

    "The hillside formed a tapestry of the blues and violets of flowering wild thyme, punctuated by bushes of wild rosemary, feathery shoots of wild fennel and the spring growth of oregano and winter savory—the poetry of Provence was in the air..."— Richard Olney
Richard Olney in Provence

Spanish lavender brightens my herb garden and delights the bees.

 

A friend's garden with a magnificent quantity of flowering basil.....and mint

     And finally— Basil. As in the passages above, I quote Richard Olney, from Simple French Food:
"It is addictive, and few who form the habit of using it can do without it! By all means use the flowers as well as the leaves and, rather than chopping, tear the latter into fragments; then they won't blacken."      
            
             
  
Featured Book:

Craig Claiborne, Cooking with Herbs and Spices, N.Y., 1963

     An oldie but goodie. This was perhaps my first cookbook. My mother gave a copy to me, another to my sister and kept one for herself. She loved growing and cooking with fresh herbs and she had an admirable collection of herb books and old herbals.
     Craig Claiborne, long-time food editor of the New York Times and author of many classic cookbooks, offers a tempting set of recipes for fifty-four herbs and spices, illustrated with lovely pen and ink drawings. My copy is spattered and worn, but still sports the original dust jacket. I make the pumpkin pie every Thanksgiving; no other filling comes close!